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#architecture
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2017-01-06
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dexter13:01:09

git submodules are nasty to work with. Everyone I know that's used them including me starts with ooh that sounds like a good idea. Then spends more time screaming f*!#&ing submodules. De-initing, re-initing, updating not realising there is a new one then after a few mins of confusion realising you just needed --init. Forgetting to update submodules when you update the main repo or vice versa, someone not updating the hash in the submodule files and even just giving up on undoing the mess you got yourself into and recloning forgetting the recursive flag, swearing again and pulling the submodules and swearing to burn the things at the earliest opportunity. Then eventually getting rid of them only to run back into the segregation issue and have someone suggest submodules only to get defenestrated. Where I am now, we evicted submodules after a few years and never looked back. I've been told though that if you are using the github gui client it's pretty good at keeping track of the submodules mess. But that doesn't work on the platform I'm restricted to at work so it's just back to swearing.

dexter13:01:46

for a few months my fiancee who was using that actually said it was fine. Then she got screwed one too many times and they gave up on them too

dexter13:01:23

admittedly after long enough you just set up all your aliases to do all the extra stuff but when you get into a hole it's still very hard to crawl out

jstokes14:01:05

yeah, i wouldn’t actually recommend using submodules, but they are a feature of git

geoffs16:01:26

I've heard git subtrees mentioned as a good alternative for some use cases of submodules

dexter16:01:12

interesting, not come across those

geoffs17:01:34

I've never used them personally, but I've heard more positive things about them than submodules